Frankel’s Fantasy Files: Week 5 – Annenberg Media

2022-10-17 10:43:29 By : Ms. Iris lee

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts reaches for the ball against the Cleveland Browns. (AP Photo/John Amis)

“Frankel’s Fantasy Files” is a column by Kyle Frankel about fantasy football. Sluice Gate Valve

So… this is awkward. Let’s address the elephant in the room. Seven days ago I proclaimed Kyle Pitts as an  “absolute must start.” Since then, the Falcons tight end put together his worst performance of the season, catching one of his four targets for 25 yards.

His 3.5 PPR points marked the third time through the first four weeks that he’s been unable to reach the four-point mark.

I’m an honest man who can admit when I’m wrong. I was wrong. I’ve defended him since he began his NFL journey last year, but I can’t keep believing anymore.

When he gets the ball in his hands, he makes plays and shows his physical dominance. However for some incomprehensible reason, the Falcons refuse to give him the rock.

Should you trade him away?

It depends on your situation. If you’re 1-3 or 0-4 and need to win right now, see if you can convince someone in your league to take a chance on him.

Otherwise, hopefully you grabbed one of my early season waiver wire tight ends. If not, I’ve got someone who can fill that void.

Despite how horrible he’s been, I simply can’t advise anyone to just drop Pitts. Put him on your bench and start someone else. Don’t drop him.

I could be wrong, but I will forever convince myself that he’s too much of an athletic monster to be on waivers. The potential is there. If you can afford to stash him, do it and pray he makes us glad we did.

I would’ve loved to give you the usual weekend recap and discuss Zach Wilson returning to football with a career fourth-quarter to bring my Jets the win, but I have to answer for my shortcomings.

I preached to buy low on Kyle Pitts and it’s not quite panning out. Don’t worry. I’m not hanging you out to dry.

There’s still someone available on the waivers that is more-than suitable for your newly open starting roster spot.

Tyler Conklin. As a member of the minority that’s actually watched every Jets game this season (which is often a miserable sight), I have seen Conklin’s usage firsthand. I’m shocked he’s still not rostered in the majority of leagues.

Through four weeks, Conklin has scored the eighth-highest PPR points among all TEs. Last week in the Jets 24-20 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, he snagged three of his five targets for 52 yards.

Zach Wilson’s return brought a slight dip in his target share, as he averaged eight targets per game during the first three weeks.

However, I don’t see this dip in targets as concerning. The return of Wilson under center will only give Conklin more opportunities to put up points.

The New York Jets went all in on their second-year signal caller this offseason, bringing in multiple talented pieces to help him succeed. Conklin is one of those pieces.

He’s a solid pass-catcher who will be used as a safety valve over the middle for the young QB. While Garrett Wilson, Elijah Moore and Corey Davis will be responsible for most shots downfield, Conklin will be there over the middle when the deep ball isn’t available.

Not to mention the Jets gave Conklin a $20 million check this offseason.

Believe me, they want their money’s worth. Somehow, he’s available in less than 40% of ESPN leagues. If you wait much longer, he won’t be on the waivers anymore.

Everyone’s talking about USC alumnus Amon-Ra St. Brown. They should be, because the Detroit Lions wide receiver is off to a spectacular start. There’s another member of the Lions’ wide receiver corps though that isn’t getting nearly enough love: Joshua Reynolds.

Reynolds has quietly put together three-straight weeks of double digit PPR points and back-to-back weeks of 15 points or more. Last Sunday, he brought in seven of eight targets for 81 yards and a trip to the end zone along the way, dropping 21.1 PPR points for his delighted fantasy owners.

He’s clearly the WR2 in this offense, garnering eight-plus targets from Jared Goff in each of the Lions’ past two games. As a WR2, he’s a great start because the opportunities will be there.

Detroit scores, plain and simple. They’re the highest scoring team in the NFL this season, averaging 35 ppg. If they want to win, they need to get some touchdowns because their defense has failed to hold an opponent to under 27 points in any of their first four games.

Along with St. Brown, Reynolds is nursing a sore ankle and did not practice on Wednesday. However, Reynolds played through his injury last weekend and had his best game of the season while St. Brown sat out.

They are both listed as questionable for this Sunday’s contest up in Foxborough, but I fully expect Reynolds to play. The injury didn’t limit him last week and shouldn’t be a problem this weekend either.

St. Brown seems to be in more pain and could end up missing another game, or playing at less than 100%.

With a possible increase in target share and a favorable matchup against a shaky Patriots secondary, Reynolds is a solid option at the flex or WR2 spot, depending on how deep your league is.

He’s rostered in a mere 18.3% of ESPN leagues and could turn out to be one of the best sleepers this season.

Two guys, two studs, simple as that. No matter what your record is, Week 5 is a huge game in the grand scheme of the season. This is the week where great teams cement themselves in the upper echelon of their leagues.

Others switch their goals from a championship to avoiding last place. I don’t know about you, but I’m going for the first option.

“Frankel’s Fantasy Files” runs every Thursday.

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